My hair is low porosity--and I LOVE them. Just ask anyone around here--I'm kind of the "poster child" for natural soap bars! I think people with coarse hair or really hard water are the ones who have the biggest issues using them.

There's a conditioner called Terax Crema that's been around for a long time. There's a long thread about it. It's expensive and the ingredients aren't anything special. It's supposed to be alkaline. You could try that. My hair loves it!

I actually just started a thread on that a few days ago because I noticed it has rubbing alcohol in it. Would that not be drying?

Originally Posted by Tomorrow Never Knows

One would think, but my hair loves it. I never use any product more then twice a week and this probably only once a week. I only use this when I do a soap bar and do an ACV rinse when I'm done. I haven't found it drying at all.

My hair is low porosity--and I LOVE them. Just ask anyone around here--I'm kind of the "poster child" for natural soap bars! I think people with coarse hair or really hard water are the ones who have the biggest issues using them.

Originally Posted by kathymack

I have thought that it was more porosity related than texture related. I can't tell with since I am both porous and kind of coarse though.

I think everyone that knows me knows how I loathe soap bars even more then sulphates My hair properties are in my siggie I have soft water.

I don't attribute it to being coarse though. Based on past articles written by the Curl Chemist it's the more porous types that will have trouble with them because they raise the cuticle.

There was some discussion on this thread I want BIGGER where I linked several expert opinions on Soap bars from Scientific view points as well as Hair Stylists, Product Developers and Chemists. Experts agree that Soap Bars are very harsh but some people still use them & don't have issues. If this information had been available when Soap bars were all the rage last year I never would have tried them, it wasn't worth the damage they caused me.
But that's just me

It's DEL2C who has problems with them. I'm pretty sure she usually tells people it's the coarse hair. I guess you'll never know until you try them.

Originally Posted by kathymack

I was a huge Chagrin Valley Soap Bar fan last winter. In the Fall when the weather dried and my hair changed I tried them and used them quite successfull thru the Spring, then I switched back to a summer routine (including CO washing).

This Fall when I tried to go back, my hair....ummmm... REBELLED! I could not for the life of me figure out why my hair was strawlike and not holding a curl. Del kept telling me to drop the soap bars and I couldnt imagine last winters HG was the cause, then Carlos (the famous) convinced me to ditch the bar, said it was making me dry...and that worked.

My hair is medium in texture and porosity and is not particularly dry or damaged, tho its needed extra moisture with how dry and cold this NorthEast winter has been.

I was a huge Chagrin Valley Soap Bar fan last winter. In the Fall when the weather dried and my hair changed I tried them and used them quite successfull thru the Spring, then I switched back to a summer routine (including CO washing).

This Fall when I tried to go back, my hair....ummmm... REBELLED! I could not for the life of me figure out why my hair was strawlike and not holding a curl. Del kept telling me to drop the soap bars and I couldnt imagine last winters HG was the cause, then Carlos (the famous) convinced me to ditch the bar, said it was making me dry...and that worked.

My hair is medium in texture and porosity and is not particularly dry or damaged, tho its needed extra moisture with how dry and cold this NorthEast winter has been.

HTH

Originally Posted by rudeechick

I only used a Chagrin Valley bar once. The experience was so awful, I gave away the two bars I had. It made my hair dry and tangled the first time around. Even I wouldn't use one of those on my hair! And I've used my bars twice a week for almost eighteen months with no issues. This winter, I did change from three days to five days with no problem.

My hair is fine and low porosity. While it's been dry and cold, I haven't had any issues with my hair at all. I continue to have 3a/b curls with no issues. (It was totally 3b in the Florida rain last weekend.) The shampoo guy at my salon won't use conditioner on my hair--he thinks it doesn't need it because my hair is in such good condition.

I suspect porosity may be the key to using alkaline products. Last summer, you porous people were using the really acidic products (Dr. Bronner's Shakakai Rinse and the Porosity Control with great success. And once was enough for me.

Well, when I first started experimenting with Bars, I am embarrassed to say, I bought between 8 and 10 different brands before I bought the CV. And they did work great all last winter - left my hair smooth and clean - even without an ACV. Dont know what change in my hair that I can't use them now....